a problem with a big canvas...

For my last painting, 'giant rhubarb', 28x39 inches, I decided to try a canvas instead of a mounted wooden board or aluminum (dibond). Leaving the boarders of the painting, the canvas started to bounce forth and back like a drum with the rhythm of my brush strokes... this was very uncomfortable and lead to a number of unwanted splashes. I did not change the stretching because I didn’t know in which direction and because I am always afraid to break it in the corners… So I figured that I actually don't know how to stretch a big size canvas properly...

Or is the bouncing normal and 'part of the game'? Thanks a lot for your help on that...

@dencal Thank you Denis for the foamboard-tip. Unfortunately when I paint, my three hands are full of brushes, papertowl and more brushes ... therefore I don't have a finger left to put on the front face...

But man, when the painting gets big, canvas in the way to go. Everything else is just too expensive or too darn heavy. But...I haven't tried dibond yet (which can be costly). Small portraits, I use ampersand gessobord. With larger works, I'm currently using cotton canvas, but at times, I dislike the texture.

When I switch back and forth between canvas and board, there's a small transition time. I change how much pressure I put on the canvas or board and angle the brushes differently.

@MeganS I like Dibond (or for smaller formats the thinner Dilite). Nearby is an aluminum factory. I buy very big 'sheets' of Dibond (120x80 inches precut in 3 pieces). At home I cut them with a saw to whatever size I need. Sand them and put gesso on it with a smooth or a rough surface... it gets cheaper than mounted canvas. They don't warp, they don't care about humidity and it is not easy to harm them in any way... the second best are mounted wooden boards like the following. I did almost all my paintings on them...

In a fairly recent discussion about painting on Plexiglas® I mentioned a product called Sintra®. If you Google "Sintra" or "Sintra PVC", you can learn more about it or possibly where to buy it. PVC is polyviny choride...it is the same stuff that plastic plumbing pipe is made of. I haven't worked with Sintra yet, but it comes in panels like plywood and is used for signs and graphic work. I'm guessing here, but probably it is made with smooth outer surfaces and a core that is porous or foam-like to reduce cost and weight. Daniel Lechón is a Mexican artist who lived in Houston, maybe still does, and is the artist contracted to do murals for the Kenedy Ranch History Museum in south Texas. During an interview, Lechón said he stopped using canvas years ago after discovering Sintra. Might be worth trying out.

@billj Thanks for the tip Bill. Unfortunately I don't know 'SurePly' and I couldn't find it over here... You can get 'dibond' in different thicknesses, depending on the size of the canvas. It is quite expensive compared with some other materials. Here in Switzerland it is about the same price as a mounted canvas (not a cheap one...)... but as I buy it in huge sheets it gets quite cheap...

On Aluminum, I was taken by the work I saw in a museum, sorry, can't remember the artist's name , but it was great work. Long story short, bought some alum. mounted it on wood. Painted on it, conclusion, no different than any other smooth surface. So unless you incorporate the shine of the metal into the composition, I can't see a reason to go that route.